Why being your true self is the most selfless act

UPS Pilot, Kelly Lepley, shares her painful and liberating journey from male to female. In this deeply personal talk, she explains how the pain of inauthenticity can make us selfish, while embracing ourselves has the potential to make us selfless in ways we never imagined.

TED@UPS Speaker: Kelly Lepley

The things we choose to hide—or embrace—can ultimately define who we are.

Pain can make us selfish, while truly becoming oneself has the potential to make us selfless in ways we never imagined.

With a steadfast commitment to a single path that is rarely seen, Kelly Lepley has grown from pointing at pictures of airplanes in every book she could find to flying one of the largest cargo planes that UPS holds.

In this deeply personal talk, UPS pilot Kelly Lepley considers how the things we choose to hide—or embrace—can ultimately define who we are.

In stark contrast, her personal life follows a complex and twisting path. Riddled with the shadows of deception and self-doubt, she is familiar with the painful stops, starts, and questions that come with becoming who you are. With immense love for her two daughters who she adopted from China, Kelly Lepley profoundly understands the complexity of chasing the longings that consume us.